Does Protein Powder Cause Hair Loss?

Does protein powder cause hair loss? Discover how certain protein supplements can affect hair loss and thinning. 

Protein Powder and Hair Loss

Can Protein Powder Cause Hair Loss?

You may have heard that protein powder causes hair loss, which is simply not true.

Protein powder hair loss is a myth, that is, there is absolutely no scientific evidence that consuming protein powder causes your hair to fall out.

On the contrary, there is abundant evidence that dietary protein is essential for hair growth and health.

If you think that protein powder causes hair loss, you probably read a 2017 study which claims whey protein isolate can accelerate hair thinning and male pattern baldness.

This study was widely circulated on the Internet and referenced by many popular publications.

As a result, many people came to believe that protein powder causes hair loss, which is unfortunate because the study in question is utterly biased.

In fact, this study can be discredited without even scrutinizing the methods because the author had a blatant conflict of interest.

Dr. Lawrence J. Shapiro, the author, is a hair transplant surgeon who sells a whey protein concentrate formulation called Dr. Shapiro’s Help Hair™ Shake.

He claims that whey protein concentrate, the main ingredient in his protein supplement, is good for your hair whereas whey protein isolate, the main ingredient in many other protein supplements, is not.

Although this could be true, Dr. Shapiro has personal and financial interests that could have (and probably did) bias his work.

I personally have no doubt that he published his “research” to sell more of his own product.

Dr. Shapiro’s study is also the only one of its kind, which matters because one cannot claim conclusive findings solely on the basis of a single study.

A study must be replicated – repeated many times over with the same results – before its findings can be considered conclusive.

A study that has not been or cannot be replicated may have been faked.

The lesson to be learned here is that we, the customer, have to be skeptical of what we find on the Internet.

Many published research findings are biased and even fallacious, but are referenced by popular publications in ways that give them far more credibility than they deserve.

This is almost certainly what happened to Dr. Shapiro’s study.

Can Protein Powder Help with Hair Growth?

Men and women experiencing hair loss or thinning often wonder whether protein supplements can help restore hair growth or prevent further loss.

The truth is that although hair itself is made of a protein called keratin and hair follicles are among the most metabolically active cells in the body, the link between protein intake and hair growth is complex.

Most of what is known about protein intake and hair loss is based on studies about people with a nutrient deficiency.

The research shows that having a protein deficiency can impact your structure and growth; it also shows that protein supplementation can promote hair growth in individuals who are protein deficient.

Little is known about the effects of protein supplementation in individuals without a nutrient deficiency, however.

One study did find that protein supplementation promotes hair growth in women suffering from thinning hair, but it is still hard to say to what extent, if any, protein affects hair growth in the average person.

Increasing your protein intake, if you do not need that extra protein, thus may or may not help with hair growth.

If you are protein deficient, or if you struggle to regularly meet your daily protein needs, however, then adding protein powder to your diet is a great idea.

That said, not all protein powders are created equal.

What Is the Best Protein Powder for Hair Growth?

Any type of protein powder (egg white, pea, whey, etc.) can help you meet your daily protein needs.

In other words, as long as you are eating a balanced diet, there is no advantage to using one type of protein powder over another. 

Ingredients do matter, however.

Most protein powders contain ingredients that can cause long term health problems, some of which are indirectly linked to hair loss.

Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, and other additives can alter the composition of your gut microbiome (the collection of microorganisms living in your gut).

This can lead to gut dysbiosis, or an imbalance in gut bacteria, which is not only a leading driver of inflammation, but also linked to nutrient malabsorption.

Although there is conflicting evidence on the subject, it is possible that nutrient deficiencies cause or at least contribute to hair loss.

So, regularly eating a protein powder that can impair your ability to absorb nutrients is not only counter productive, but also potentially bad for hair growth.

Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein supplements:

• acacia fiber
• acacia gum
• acesulfame potassium
• artificial flavors
• ascorbic acid
• aspartame
• calcium carbonate
• carrageenan
• cellulose gum
• dextrin
• dicalcium phosphate
• dipotassium phosphate
• erythritol
• gellan gum
• guar gum
• gum arabic
• inulin
• locust bean gum
• maltitol
• maltodextrin
• mono- and diglycerides
• ‘natural’ flavors
• rice bran extract
• rice dextrin
• rice hulls
• rosemary extract
• silica
• silicon dioxide
• sodium alginate
• soluble corn fiber
• sorbitol
• soy lecithin
• sucralose
• sunflower lecithin
• tocopherols
• tricalcium phosphate
• xanthan gum
• xylitol
• zinc oxide

Basically, if you could not find an ingredient in nature or make it at home, it should not be in your protein powder. 

Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

The protein source itself (not the type of protein, but the form) might be a factor worth considering too.

Most protein supplements are made from protein concentrates and isolates, which have been mechanically and/or chemically stripped of everything but the protein.

This includes the enzymes, fiber, and other natural digestive aids that help your gut break them down.

You therefore do not digest them in the same way that it does whole foods, which can affect everything from satiety to gut health.

In fact, studies show that regularly eating protein concentrates and isolates can disrupt your gut microbiome and cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut.

So, pending further research, it is recommended that you stick to diverticulitis protein powders made from whole food protein sources.

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Why Drink Wholesome?

Finding a protein powder free from food additives and protein concentrates and isolates is hard.

In fact, 99% of protein supplements contain one or more of these problematic ingredients, which is why we created Drink Wholesome.

We make the best protein powder for hair fall because we use a short list of simple ingredients.

Our Ingredients

egg whites

coconut

vanilla

monk fruit

NOT Our Ingredients

• acacia gum

• acesulfame potassium

• artificial flavors

• carrageenan

• erythritol

• guar gum

• inulin

• maltodextrin

• 'natural' flavors

• silica

• soy lecithin

• sucralose

• xanthan gum

• xylitol

Note that instead of using protein concentrates or isolates, we use whole food protein sources like egg whites and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

It follows that our customers experience fewer digestive or health issues with our Protein Powder than with any other type of protein supplement.

Order Samples to see for yourself.